Refrigerator car construction



Oct. 6, 1942. c. D. BONSALL J REFRIGERATOR CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed April '26, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l x I Wii/lil nventor I. II

"in I Oct. 6; 1942. c. D. BONSALL I REFRIGERATOR CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Apri1 26, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ill! in De Patented Oct. 6, 1942 REFRIGERATOR CAR CONSTRUCTION Charles D. Bonsall, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Standard Railway Devices Company, a corporation-of Delaware Application April 26, 1940, Serial No. 331,704

6 Claims.

This invention relates to refrigerator cars used to transport perishable commodities at a predetermined temperature. The essential features of a refrigerator car are an insulated body to prevent or retard ingress of heat during warm weather and egress of heat during cold weather and a cooling means and a heating means to be used during warm and cold weather respectively.

This invention applies particularly to cars in which the cooling means, preferably containers for water ice, eutectic ice, brine or dry ice, are disposed immediately below the roof of the car. The lading is supported in spaced relation to the floor by a foraminous rack. Flues, preferably associated with the side walls of the car, communicate between the cooling means and the space under the floor rack to provide a path for the circulation of air. The path is from the cooling means downwardly through the aforementioned lines, through the space under the floor rack, upwardly through the lading compartment thereby cooling .the lading, and finally to the cooling means from where the cycle is repeated.

It is common in a car of this type to provide drip pans below the refrigerant containers for the dual purpose of directing the circulating air into the side wall flues and for catching the overflow and/or condensation from the containers and draining such overflow and/or condensation into the side wall flues. hinged to the side walls of the car and supported by a latch or other detachable means near the center of the car. The purpose of hinging the drip pans is to facilitate the cleaning and repairing of the drip pans, refrigerant containers or other parts of the car.

An object of the invention is to providea means to hinge the drip pan, which means does not infringe to any considerable extent upon the lading space of the car.

Another object is to prevent the dripping of condensed moisture from the hinges upon the lading. Bare metal surfaces in a refrigerator car are usually cold and condense moisture from the air if the humidity of the air is high.

Another object is to provide a hinging means which embodies a substantially water-tight although rotative connection between the drip pan and the side wall flue, thereby preventing leakage of liquid from the drip pan into the lading space.

A further object is to provide a hinging means for the drip pan which supports the drip pan The drip pans are often rigidly when in a horizontal position and which 55 permits the drip pan to be easily removed when desired.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following detailed description by referring to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a partial transverse section of a refrigerator car embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged View of the hinge means shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section to an enlarged scale on line 33 of Fig. l.

Fig. 4 is similar to Fig. 2 and shows the drip pan in a depending position.

Fig. 5 is similar to Fig. 4 and shows the drip pan after having been raised from the position shown in Fig. 4 to disengage the hinge means.

Fig. 6 is similar to Fig. 2 but is taken through an inner post wherein said inner post is wood.

The general parts of the refrigerator car shown are insulated roof 2; side wall 3; floor 4; hatch 5; refrigerant containers 6; side wall flue 1; foraminous floor rack 8 and space 9 between the rack 8 and floor 4. A refrigerant container '6 is positioned directly below the roof 2 and adjacent a side wall 3. A drip pan I2 is provided below the container 6 and a partition I4 is disposed in an upstanding position at the edge of the drip pan !2. The drip pan l2 and partition I 4 cooperate with the roof 2 and the upper part of the side wall 3 to form an enclosing structure I l around the container 6, an air inlet opening [5 being provided by spacing the partition M from the roof 2. An air discharge opening I 1 leads from the enclosing structure H to the flue l at a lower elevation than the air inlet opening l5. Cars of this type commonly have a row of refrigerant containers 6 near each side wall 3 and spaced apart at the center of the car. The partitions I4 are also spaced apart to form a duct !6 which communicates between the lading compartment 1 8 and openings l 5.

Air circulation is as follows: Air in the lading compartment I8 is warmed by contact with the lading and rises through the duct Hi to enter the enclosing structures I I through the air inlet openings [5. The air is cooled by contact with the refrigerant containers 6 and falls by reason of its lower temperature and therefore greater density through. the discharge opening l1 and fiues to the spaces 9 whence it rises through the rack 3 to thelading compartment I8.

The side wall 3 of the car is comprised of a series of spaced apart outer posts 25 and a series of spaced apart izmer posts 26 disposed in spaced relation to the outer posts 25. Flue sheets 28 extend between and are secured to the inner surfaces of the inner posts 26 and are provided with outwardly projecting panels 29 between the inner posts 26. A lining 3|, preferably plywood or other relatively rigid insulating material, is disposed in flatwise relation with the flue sheets 28, thereby forming the side wall flues 1 between the lining 3| and the outwardly projecting panels 29 of the flue sheets 28.

Means 3-5 are provided to hinge the drip pan I2 adjacent (preferably above) the upper edge of the side wall lining 3|, and a suitable latch 34 is preferably provided to support the opposite edge 33 of the drip pan I2. The hinge means 35 comprises a member 36 preferably extending longitudinally of the car and having the lower part 38 thereof secured, preferably by the rivets 39, to the inner side posts 26. Said lower part 38 is preferably interposed between the flue sheet 28 and the lining 3|; recesses 4| may be provided in the lining 3| to receive the rivet heads 42. The upper part 44 of the member 36 is flared toward the lading compartment I8 and is provided with a recess 45 facing away from the lading compartment l8; that is, toward the side wall 3. The upper edge 41 of the member 36 is spaced a substantial distance from the flue sheet 28. The hinge means 35 also comprises a piece 48 having its upper part 50 secured to the drip pan l2 and its lower part 5| preferably depending from an edge of the drip pan. The lower part 5| of the piece 48 is directed toward the interior of the car and is formed with a part 53 substantially complementary to the recess 45. The part 53 nests within the recess 45 and the piece 48 also has an intermediate part 55 in contact with the flue sheet 28 above the lining 3|. The piece 48 is thus snugly interposed between the recess 45 and the side wall 3.

It is evident from Fig. 2 that when the drip pan I2 is in the substantially horizontal position shown it is prevented from moving to the right by the contact between the recess 45 and the part 53 of the piece 48 and to the left by contact between the flue sheet 28 and the intermediate part 55 of the piece 48. Vertical movement of the hinged end 6| of the drip pan I2 is prevented by the contour of the recess 45. The recess 45 and the part 53 of the piece 48 nesting therein are preferably elements of a cylinder so that the hinge 35 permits rotation of the drip pan on a substantially horizontal axis.

When it is desirous to disengage the hinge means 35, the drip pan I2 is rotated to the depending position shown in Fig. 4 and then lifted vertically by a linear movement to the position shown in Fig. 5, where the drip pan I2 is entirely disengaged from the side wall 3 of the car.

The space between the flue sheet 28 and the upthe reason that the minimum height is the distance from the floor to the lower side of the hinge and the minimum width is the distance between the hinges on opposite sides of the car. In my invention I position the hinge means 35 substantially within the vertical confining planes of the side wall lining 3| so as not to restrict the nominal interior dimensions of the car.

The air circulating within a refrigerator car usually has a high humidity due to contact with the ice and melted ice and also possibly due to the absorption of moisture from certain types of lading. When this humid air comes in contact with bare metal parts, a considerable part of the moisture is condensed therefrom onto the metal parts. There is a tendency for such condensation to drip from the metal parts and, in many cases, ruin or damage the lading. In my construction the exposed metal parts of the hinge means 35 are arranged to overlie the lining 3| so that moisture dripping therefrom does not drip upon the lading.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof within the scope of the claims, will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. In a refrigerator car having a lading compartment, a wall, means including a lining associated with said wall for forming a flue, a drip pan and means to hinge said drip pan to said wall adjacent the upper edge of said lining, said hinge means comprising a member secured to said wall and formed with a recess facing said wall, and a piece secured to said drip pan with a part thereof nesting in said recess, the engaging parts of said member and said piece being confined substantially within the vertical planes of said i lining so as not to encroach upon said flue or said tainer, and means to hinge said drip pan to said wall adjacent the upper edge of said lining, said means comprising a continuously extending member carried by said wall and formed with a recess facing the wall and a continuously extending piece secured to said drip pan and having a part nesting in said recess and snugly confined therein by a part of said wall, whereby liquid from said container is directed into said flue.

means 35 is secured to the inner posts by lag screws 66.

The nominal size of a refrigerator car is indicated by the minimum interior width and the minimum interior height. A hinge means which projects into the lading compartment l8 has the effect of decreasing either the nominal height 3. In a refrigerator car having a wall, a refrigerant container adjacent said wall, a lining forming a part of said wall and having a flue on one side and a lading compartment on the other side thereof, a drip pan below said container, and means to hinge said drip pan to said wall adjacent the upper edge of said lining, said means comprising a member carried by said wall and a continuously extending piece secured to said drip pan and operatively engaged With said member, said member and piece being substantially coextensive with said drip pan whereby liquid from said container is directed into said fiue, said member and said piece being rotatively engaged to permit swinging said drip pan about the hinge means.

4. In a refrigerator car having a wall, a reor the nominal width of the car, or both, for frigerant container adjacent said wall, a lining forming a part of said wall and having a flue on one side and a lading compartment on the other side thereof, a drip pan below said container, and means to hinge said drip pan to said wall adjacent the upper edge of said lining, said means comprising a member carried by said wall and a continuously extending piece secured to said drip pan and operatively engaged with said member, said member and piece being substantially coextensive with said drip pan whereby liquid from said container is directed into said flue, said member and said piece being rotatively engaged to permit swinging said drip pan about the hinge means and proportioned to be disengaged only when said drip pan is depending in a substantially vertical plane from the hinge means.

5. In a refrigerator car having a wall including lining means, a refrigerant container adjacent said wall, said car including a lading compartment and a flue disposed on opposite sides of said lining means, drip pan means below said container and structure for pivotally securing said pan means to said Wall adjacentthe upper edge of said lining means, said structure comprising an element carried by one of said means coextensive with said drip pan means, and means carried by the other of said means cooperative with said element to form a hinge, said element being constructed and arranged to direct liquid from the container into said flue.

6. In a refrigerator car having a wall including lining means, a refrigerant container adjacent said wa ll, said car including a lading compartment and a flue disposed on opposite sides of said lining means, drip pan means below said container and structure for pivotally securing said pan means to said wall adjacent the upper edge of said lining means, said structure comprising an element carried by one of said means coextensive with said drip pan means, and means carried by the other of said means also coextensive in length with said drip pan means and cooperative With said element to form a hinge, said element being constructed and arranged to direct liquid from the container into said flue,

CHARLES D. BONSALL. 

